Saturday

Happy Saturday to You! Today's card project features a couple stamps from the Punched Posies Hostess stamp set. I love how the stamps fit certain punches in the catalog... I did fussy-cut around the small Melon Mambo flowers before popping them up with dimensional popdots. Can you see the little half-back pearls? If you click on the picture, an enlargement should appear to make it easier to see... I have pearls along the bottom scallop and in the flower centers. See the bottom of today's post for a tip regarding the application of the little pearls.

If you like using the little pearls like I do - you know what rascals they can be! If you grab them with tweezers or between your fingernails- they pop out and go flying! And they always seem to want to land upside down when I'm about ready to drop them into the glue.... so with trial and lots of error, I found what works easiest and best for me. I thought I'd share how I put the little half-back pearls on my projects.

Apply a small dot of glue (mono-multi used here)-

Give the dot of glue about 20-30 seconds to set up and get tacky... Now, it's ready for a pearl...

While you are waiting on your dot of glue to set-up, touch the very tip of a pin in mono-multi glue - it'll be "dry" and tacky in 15 seconds or so... You really only have to do the pin tip once or twice during the project... Tap the sticky pin tip to the top of a pearl to pick it up, and apply the pearl to the dot of glue!

Oh my goodness! How simple is that?? By the way, I love the little picture above - doesn't my pearl look like a little mushroom? LOL! Have a great day and see you soon...

Thursday

There are lots of adorable flower selections included with the Punched Posies Hostess Set that's available in the Summer Mini catalog. This layout is based on Splitcoast's Sketch Challenge 93. To add a bit of dimension on my large flower, I added additional ink on the outer petal edges using a sponge dauber in Bashful Blue ink. The center flower ring was stamped and punched out with the 3/4 inch circle punch, then I added a green brad in the center. The circle was popped up with a popdot on the flower. I used some masking to create the mass of leaves down at the bottom, as well as popping up 3 cut-out flowers. The sentiment comes from the new 2010-2011 IB&C Hostess set called Occasional Quotes.

Wednesday

Wow... I just realized that this year is almost half over - it seems like time definitely speeds up as you get older! I know that we all become pressed for more time in a day, and you may find yourself needing a quick clean and simple (CAS) card for something unexpected... how about today's card as an example? This one was very fast to put together. I like using this layout - it's one of my "go-to" layouts when I'm pressed for saving some time. I know that I've mentioned this before, but it really does help to have several "go-to" layouts that you can fall back on again and again. I love using the embossing folders too. They always provide a Wow factor with texture. This stamp image was colored directly with markers, so the colors really pop IRL. A bit of organdy ribbon adds a nice touch without going overboard, so it'll be easy to pop in the mail.

Saturday

Hi there! Today's post is another super cute swap project that I received this week. I had arrived a couple minutes late to the meeting when my upline was handing these out to the group, and found out today that it was my out-of-state sister demo, Betty S, who created this adorable punch art giftbag... isn't this Uncle Sam the cutest?! Another wonderful idea Betty has here is using a patriotic paper napkin for the tissue in the bag - gotta remember that one! I always see cute decorative napkins for so many different occasions... the perfect inspiration for a little giftbag. The Fancy Favor diecut giftbag is hidden in this picture by the Uncle Sam front panel, but it was cut out of Real Red cardstock. This is such a cute July 4th project!

Thanks again to all my demo sisters! My upline, KM, gave us some great tips on using the Bigshot and accessories to make applique quilt blocks so much easier to put together. I need to take some pictures and get that post together to share with you... you'll be amazed - I was! Thanks KM!

Friday

Here's a couple more swap samples that I received this week from my demo sisters. This is another beautiful card using the Elements of Style stamp set, and a new embossing folder called Vintage Wallpaper. This wonderful creation was made Julee H, and I love how she brought out the details of embossing by swiping ink across the raised areas of the purple embossed strip... gorgeous!

Here's a stunning card created by Jimi F utilizing different stamp sets. The main panel features a floral sneak peek of one of the stamps in the Friends Never Fade stamp set, plus a view of one of patterns from the coordinating Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper line..... Love it and can't wait till I get my hands on this stuff! The "Birthday Wishes" sentiment is from Watercolor Trio, and the "For You" button is in Elements of Style. I've always enjoyed Stampin Up's desire to coordinate different elements (stamps, paper, ink & accessories) to make it EASY for us to create masterpieces! The new 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog is truly fantastic, as SU really showcases this feature with the samples used in the new catalog for all levels of papercrafters. I can't wait to try out the new product lines!

Thursday

As promised, I thought I'd share some cards that my demo sisters created for swap. These three cards today emphasize Pink! The card above was made by Judy G with the brand new Level 1 hostess set "Because I Care". It's so prrreeetttty! I love the way she brought out the texture of the embossed cardstock by rubbing ink across it and tore the main panel cardstock to give a distressed look... and aren't the ribbon "leaves" a great idea?!

This card is using my favorite DSP in the current catalog - Razzleberry Lemonade - and this sweet CAS card was created by Rachelle S. Love the Melon Mambo cardstock and ribbon embellishment, and I'm glad this bright and happy color will be returning in the next catalog. Also, Rachelle used one of the sentiment stamps from Teeny Tiny Wishes - it's one of my favorite sets in the catalog as it has 24 different sentiments to cover just about every occasion... I use it tons! :)

The last card I'm sharing today was made by Dawn L using Flight of the Butterfly stamp set. Don't you love the "filmstrip" she created using the Spiral punch?!! The butterflies are cut out and popped up on dimensional popdots, too.

I have more to show you tomorrow, and Saturday's post features my upline's project that is absolutely wonderful... Thanks, demo sisters! You all rock!! See you tomorrow...

Wednesday

Hello again, my friends! I went to my upline meeting yesterday, and one of my favorite things that KM offers is time to swap cards with my sister demos. I thought that I'd show you my swap card, which is shown above. It contains the 5 new 2010-2011 core colors that will be available for purchase on July 1st. I thought something like this would help out my sister demos who might like to show these actual colors in person, as some printed colors are hard to duplicate on paper, like in a catalog. These colors are so vibrant, and I'm really liking 'em (especially Cherry Cobbler!!!!). Anyhow, the yellow cardbase is Daffodil Delight. The "Things I Love" title is stamped in Marina Mist, and the individual panels from left to right are Early Espresso, Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler. The textured panels were created using the Bigshot/Square Lattice embossing folder.

I had some leftover strips of the textured cardstock, so I trimmed the ends to the same size and set them side-by-side on a Marina Mist cardstock panel to create a different background.

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek - the next few posts will show you the wonderful creations that my "demo" family put together. Thanks for visiting!

ETA - It took me a while to find the card that I CASE'd for swap. I visit many blogs and galleries and couldn't remember where I originally seen a card using this stamp set and the use of blocks for colors which was perfect for my need of sharing the new core colors in one project. I'm so glad I found it! Jeannine Tarrio's card is wonderful, and I thank her for the idea and inspiration!

Sunday

Hello again, and how is your Sunday going for you? I've been trying to organize my craft room over the last several weekends - it's going rather slowly but looking alot better. I really do need to purge some stuff! Today's card was made in between my cleaning "sessions". It is a brightly colored card IRL, but you can't help but be cheered up when you see it.

he three largest flowers are popped up on dimensionals, and they were lightly sprayed with the Champagne Mist Shimmer paint spray to sparkle and catch the light. The sentiment window was created by punching the Word Window punch through the white and olive cardstocks. The happy birthday sentiment was stamped in craft ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The "eyelet" scallop was created by using the 1/8 inch hole punch after punching out my scalloped edge with the border punch.

Saturday

We celebrated another birthday in my family this week, and I made this card for my oldest son. After stamping the tree and wolf in Chocolate Chip ink, I punched a 1/2" circle post-it for the moon shape and sponged all around it in River Rock and Crumb Cake inks. This was trimmed down and matted with C.Chip cardstock. The background River Rock panel was scored vertically several times to create a slight texture on the left side, then matted as well with C.Chip cardstock. I stamped the birthday sentiment and added a small piece of ribbon with a large decorative brad inserted to hold it down. The pieces were assembled on a Vanilla cardbase. The cardbase has some random stampings using the speckle stamp from Itty Bitty backgrounds in C.Chip ink (by the way, this little stamp set will be officially retired on June 30th - I love my 15+ year old speckle stamp, and it will still be lovingly used in my home for many more years to come!!). This masculine card could be used for a variety of occasions by changing the sentiment, and I hope it's given you some ideas. Have a nice weekend, and I appreciate your visit...

Friday

Owls are so cute - don't you think? With four kids ranging in age from 9 to 17, it seems like I never have enough birthday cards made up for all the different age groups between my kids and their friends. This card above uses the owl stamp from the Fox & Friends, and the flower twig comes from the Eastern Blooms stamp set. I like how this card turned out and think it'll be perfect for the younger crowd. Don't forget that you can click on the photo and a larger version should appear for you...

The flower twig was colored using Chocolate Chip and Poppy Parade markers, then stamped on the main Whisper White panel. The owl was positioned onto the twig with the help of a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, and stamped using the new In-Color ink called Cajun Craze - it's going to be the perfect color for the autumn cards that I have spinning around in my head. It's similar to the retiring Really Rust color, but has more richness, and (IMHO) it's a prettier color shade all around. I used a scoring tool to add a border around the stamped images. This was matted and glued to a patterned paper selection from the Hostess Patterns Pack III which has a white mat with edges done with the Scallop Edge border punch. Lastly, I glued tiny half-back pearls to the centers of the flowers to add alittle oomph.

I'd love to hear what you think! With all the birthday's around here, this card will be on it's way to a new home soon. My next project to post is another birthday card, but for a male teen... I hope you can come back and check it out! It got the thumbs up from DS #1, so I'm a happy stamper {grin!}. Have a super Friday, and be sure to get a little stamping time in this weekend... till next time...

Thursday

It's Thursday - one more day to go before the weekend is here... Yay! Today's card is using several stamps from the soon-to-be available hostess set called Apple Blossoms in the upcoming 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog. This catalog ROCKS, my friends! The samples and ideas range from clean & simple to advanced techniques, and there's a very fine selection of stamp sets and accessories that will surely fit everyone's tastes! If you'd like to receive a catalog for $5 (or Free if you'd like to hostess a workshop), just send an email to june@mycreativecorner.com. You'll also get a coupon for $5 off your first order of $30 in merchandise when placed before December 31st, so your catalog would essentially be Free! I'm expecting the catalogs to arrive the last week of June, so let me know ASAP, and I'll set one aside just for you!

This hostess set is really cute, and I stamped the largest flower several times in Tangerine Tango (a returning In-Color that has made the cut into the core color collection), and a new 2010-2011 In-Color called Poppy Parade - it's a bright, happy reddish-orange color that is really pretty IRL. The flowers were trimmed out and stacked on top of each other with dimensional popdots - love the fun factor here! :)

The line of leaves was stamped in Garden Green ink in an "up-down" fashion, and I added scallops along the bottom panel for interest using the Scallop Edge border punch. White grosgrain ribbon add a nice touch and everything was assembled on a Poppy Parade cardbase. Remember, you can click on the pic and a larger photo should appear to show you more details.

I hope you have an enjoyable Thursday - I have a sweet owl card to show you tomorrow. See you then!

Saturday

It's hard to believe it's June already - this year has really flown by... My customers on my distribution list should have received my newsletter at the beginning of June that basically highlighted Stampin' Up's retirement product listings. The retiring stamp sets will be available throughout June, however the other items like accessories, decor elements, etc are first-come, first-serve.... grab them while you can! You can order through my business website 24-7.

OK, today's project shown above is one of the items we made during our last hostess club. I used a battery operated tealight candle and decorated it with Tea Party DSP. Instructions can be found on SplitCoast under the resources section. I added some non-SU string of pearls and pink silk roses that are glued down to embellish this very cute cake. The little 3x3 notecard and envelope were stamped using a flower selection from Priceless stamp set in So Saffron, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery. The sentiment comes from Sincere Salutations that is stamped in black ink. Of course, Whisper White Organza ribbon finish off this notecard.

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First and foremost, I love Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. I am truly blessed with four wonderful children and have been married to my sweet DH for over twenty-five years.

I love being creative with papercrafting, quilting, altered items and mixed media artwork. Horseback riding, gardening, and reading are other favorite hobbies. We love and share our home with a menagerie of animals.